Kempe goal in OT lifts Kings past Flames for 4th straight victory

LOS ANGELES --Adrian Kempe scored with 1:38 remaining in overtime, and the Los Angeles Kings recovered for a 4-3 win against the Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

Kempe finished a 2-on-1 with Viktor Arvidsson on a tip-in from outside the paint at 3:23.
"Knew I had 'Arvy' with me for a 2-on-1," Kempe said. "Obviously, I was expecting him to shoot, but I was staying back-post in case the puck ended up there, and Arvy made a great play back to me for an easy tap-in."

Gabriel Vilardi and Blake Lizotte each had a goal and an assist, Pheonix Copley made 27 saves in his fourth straight victory and the Kings (19-12-5) extended their winning streak to four games.
"Calgary is a good team, they didn't go away," Lizotte said. "Good resiliency from our group, kind of letting them back in the game -- and rightfully so, they made some good plays -- but for us to kind of regroup and win that game in overtime is huge."
Tyler Toffoli and Dillon Dube scored in the third period for the Flames (15-12-7), who earned a point in their fifth straight road game (2-0-3). Dan Vladar made 28 saves.
"There's no doubt in our minds that we could come back," Toffoli said. "It was just a matter of putting in the work and staying with it."
Phillip Danault put Los Angeles ahead 2-1 at 1:29 of the third when he scored on a backhand shot, faking out Vladar after an aggressive forecheck by Alex Iafallo forced a turnover in the offensive zone.
Lizotte made it 3-1 just 10 seconds later at 1:39, putting in Vilardi's rebound from the high slot.
"With Arvy and 'Gabe's' skill level, it makes it easier for me to play," Lizotte said. "I can create havoc out there and play with speed and kind of create time for them. They make good plays, so my goal is just to give them the most time possible with the puck."

Toffoli cut it to 3-2 at 6:46 on the power play with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle, his fourth goal during a three-game streak.
Dube tied it 3-3 at 13:32, getting behind the right circle to put in Noah Hanifin's pass.
Kings forward Kevin Fiala missed wide on a penalty shot at 7:50 of the third after he was slashed from behind by Michael Stone.
"I think you always want more, but I think, at the same time, we battled back," Toffoli said. "You try and look at the positives, but at the same time we had that little two-minute breakdown where they capitalized on their chances early, and from then on we were kind of fighting for it."
Huberdeau gave Calgary a 1-0 lead at 3:23 of the first period when he scored on a breakaway set up by Milan Lucic. It was Huberdeau's fifth point (one goal, four assists) during a three-game point streak.
Vilardi tied it 1-1 at 17:41 after redirecting Sean Walker's shot from the right point and tipping in the rebound. The goal was Vilardi's first in 12 games.

Kings coach Todd McLellan was pleased by how Vilardi, who leads Los Angeles with 14 goals, was still able to contribute in other ways during his scoring drought.
"When we compare his four years with us now, when he wasn't scoring he didn't bring a lot to the table," McLellan said. "Now, he is. It's not just about scoring."
NOTES: Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev did not play because of an undisclosed injury. McLellan said Kaliyev would not play at the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. … Danault has three points (two goals, one assist) during a three-game streak. … Dube scored for the third straight game, getting his third goal in that span. … Elias Lindholm had the secondary assist on Dube's goal to extend his point streak to four games (two goals, seven assists).